11 drafted Longhorns gives the 2024 Texas football team a standard to live up to
Texas football had 11 players drafted in the 2024 NFL Draft and an additional two Longhorns who signed as undrafted free agents. A significant amount of production is heading to the professional ranks, but there are players remaining on the 40 Acres who not only want to adequately fill in for their former teammates but also live up to the standard set by their fellow 2023 Big 12 Champions.
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Those Longhorns who are on the 2024 squad will do so as Texas tries to traverse its first season as members of the Southeastern Conference and earn a bid to the 12-team College Football Playoff after making the final scheduled iteration of the four-team CFP.
“It was hard to put my finger on it early on when I talked about ‘this team has a lot to prove,’” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said Wednesday at the Touchdown Club of Houston. “I really think there’s a group of veteran players that have a lot to prove.”
Sarkisian mentioned a number of individual players, and almost every one had an example from 2024’s draft class whose accomplishments they will strive to match or exceed in the coming season.
“It dawned on me watching the draft last weekend, but I think about Jake Majors,” Sarkisian said.
Majors saw fellow O-line starter Christian Jones, the elder statesman of the room, get selected. Majors now has seniority in Kyle Flood‘s position group.
“I think about Gunnar Helm,” Sarkisian said.
Ja’Tavion Sanders enjoyed a strong 2023 campaign and parlayed that into a pick from the Carolina Panthers.
“I think about Kelvin Banks,” he said.
Similar to Majors, Banks watched his fellow tackle in Jones go to the Cardinals.
“I think about Quinn Ewers,” he said.
A bit of a different scenario as there wasn’t another UT quarterback picked, but watching the run of quarterbacks in the first round serves as one of Ewers’ many motivations ahead of 2024.
“I think about Jaydon Blue,” said Sarkisian.
Jonathon Brooks waited his turn and became RB1 after his third year on campus. Blue is entering his third season on the 40 Acres.
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Sarkisian then switched to defense.
“I think about Jahdae Barron,” he said.
Barron, who was given No. 7 by Michael Huff in the video announcing his return for the 2024 season, saw Ryan Watts go to Pittsburgh.
“I think about Alfred (Collins),” Sarkisian said.
Not only does Collins have first-rounder Byron Murphy and second-round pick T’Vondre Sweat to look to, but also 2023 draft selections Moro Ojomo and Keondre Coburn.
“I think about Barryn Sorrell,” Sarkisian said.
Like Collins, Sorrell has some fellow D-line teammates to emulate as he tries to break Texas’ drought of defensive ends selected in the draft.
That group mentioned includes players inherited by Sarkisian and several he brought to campus, plus a few more that went unnamed. Sarkisian likes to talk about “the standard,” and the 2024 Longhorns have examples at almost every position to live up to.
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“There’s a nucleus of another 10-15 guys if I literally went through every guy, I feel like they’ve got a lot to prove,” Sarkisian said. “As much as it is I feel like they have a lot to prove, maybe not so much to y’all or to the fans, I think they feel like they have a lot to prove to that locker room and they have a lot to prove to that 11/13 guys that just left. That they’re ready to step in and lead.
“And that’s a good thing. Any time we have a chip on our shoulder in anything that we do, we’re willing to go even further with that. We’ve got great leadership in there. I think that we’ve recruited a really competitive team.”
